


Five Crowns

by DeviousPeep



Category: Original Work
Genre: Wikia
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-10
Updated: 2014-08-30
Packaged: 2018-11-12 18:22:58
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 13,591
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11167482
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DeviousPeep/pseuds/DeviousPeep
Summary: Prince Joshiah asks Alyson for assistance in a very dangerous task. Rachelle warns Queen Kristacean of the barbarian girl she saw on land, causing Elizabetha to worry that Wiksteros and Ebano may be forming an alliance, and that they should reconsider the elves' offer. Mariah fears she is losing Renato to Queen Joanna, so her friend suggests using sex to win him back. And Benjamyn and Justine decide to start preparing for the war that will soon take place, so they let Josyph handle Valentina.





	1. "The Game of Thrones"

**Teaser:**

In the beautiful ocean blue, three mermaids are there too. Three little mermaids, not even in teenage years, are seen playing among the colourful and vast corals that stretch across the sea bed outside a grand glass palace. Two of the mermaids are clearly of royal descent, dressed in embroidered silks and their hair beautifully pinned up in extravagant designs. However, once the three mermaids begin playing around, swimming fast through the hidden caves in the coral, their hair comes lose and their clothes dirty, making them indistinguishable from the third mermaid, who is but a mere peasant girl; a handmaiden in the training. She is the oldest of the three mermaids, at the age of eleven, and it is her duty to watch over the princess mermaids as they play, ensuring that they’re not harmed. “Careful!” she calls out, warning the youngest mermaid, at age six, as she curiously reaches out to touch a strange creature in the coral. Rachelle, the eldest mermaid, swims over and gently pushes Elizabetha, the youngest mermaid, away from the creature. “This is an Evinsnare” she explains, pointing at the dark eely beast, “It is small but very poisonous. My father was nipped in the finger by one of these as a child and lost his hand as a result. You must be careful, okay?” she finishes. Elizabetha nods. Rachelle smiles at the little mermaid, announcing “When we return I’ll alert the guards of the creatures presence and they’ll make sure it doesn’t harm anymore people” Rachelle finishes. Soon enough Elizabetha gets bored of sitting around so asks to continue to play. Rachelle nods and then the three mermaids continue swimming joyfully together, now being cautious of dangerous beasts. They play for a short while longer, without realising that they’re drawing further and further away from the glass palace. They keep on playing until Rachelle comes to a sudden halt with a look of fear on her face, “Girls. We must go no further. It’s time to turn back to the palace” she explains. The two royal mermaids look upset. The middle aged mermaid, Flo, folds her arms in protest and simply tells Rachelle, “I don’t have to listen to you. You’re the help”. At any other moment Rachelle may have been hurt by this comment, but right now she is more concerned about how far away they’ve swam. She looks down into the dark abyss of the sea below her and struggles to locate the palace. She only manages to see it due to a dim glow the glass palace gives off. “I don’t wish to interrupt your fun but we have to turn back. It’s not safe out here” Rachelle points out, becoming desperate for them to listen, “If your mother finds out…” she says before being cut off. “My mother will not find out about this” Flo states with assertiveness, “Because if she does it shall be you that pays for it”. Rachelle looks scared after this threat, but it doesn’t deter her from doing her duties “I am not royalty. I cannot go any further without a pardon from the queen. If I do and the guards find me they will kill me” she points out. “I’m not asking you to come with us” Flo says, leading Elizabetha to innocently giggle, “It’s okay Rachelle you don’t need to come”. Rachelle refuses to listen, “I am not letting you two go off on your own. If anything happened to you it would be on my head!” she says, almost yelling. However Flo doesn’t seem to care. She grabs Elizabetha by the hand and tells her, “C’mon. Let’s go” as they begin swimming away from Rachelle. As they grow further apart, Rachelle desperately calls out for both Flo and Elizabetha, “Come back!!”.  
The two sister princesses continue to ignore their maid friend as they swim further out into the ocean. “Should we have really left Rachelle behind? What if she gets into trouble” Elizabetha asks guiltily. Flo assures her sister that Rachelle will be fine so long as she keeps her mouth shut about the little adventure they’re having. “But what if she tells?” Elizabetha worries, “If she tells then it’s her own fault her head ends up on a spike” Flo snaps, getting annoyed with her whiney younger sister. Elizabetha is silenced by this comment and she simply continues to silently worry about Rachelle. As they keep on swimming, Flo soon notices something in the distance, at the top of the water; a glowing orange light. Elizabetha asks what it is, so Flo tells her to come check it out. They both swim to the surface of the water and find themselves not too far away from the shore of an island. On the golden sandy beach which is surrounded by dense forest is a small camp fire burning alone. There is nobody sat around the fire and nobody in sight along the beach for miles. Flo and Elizabetha are both amazed by the beautiful glowing light and they simply stare at it in awe. Elizabetha asks what it is, so Flo theorises that it must be a thing their mother told her about; fire. “Apparently the humans use it to harm people. People like us” she explains to her little sister. Suddenly Elizabetha is filled with a realisation, “Mother is going to kill us if she finds out we visited the surface. She told us to never come to the surface” she panics. Flo assures her sister that it’s fine, “Look. There are no humans around for miles. We’re safe for a short while”. Elizabetha seems uneasy, but slightly comforted her older sister’s comments. “How about we quickly go and look at the fire?” Flo suggests to her sister, who seems a bit nervous. “How can we get to it?” Elizabetha wonders, “We don’t have legs”. “Don’t be silly Elizabetha, you know our history. How we once ruled the land and walked on legs. How the humans and dwarfs invaded us and drew us to the ocean. How centuries since we’ve had to suffer in the dark depths of the sea” Flo tells her sister, getting angrier and angrier as she recounts her people’s history. “Have we ever gone back on land?” little Elizabetha asks, leading Flo to explain that mermaids roam land all the time to collect precious gems and treasures along the shores. “So it’s okay if we do it?” she asks, Flo nods, adding “As long as mother doesn’t find out.” The two sisters smile at each other and make their way to the shore. Once they get near the sand, they use their hands to drag their body and tail further onto the beach. When they remove themselves fully from the water, their tails begin to gracefully transform into a pair of legs. Both the girls are startled at first and Elizabetha panics, asking what to do. However, they both soon realise that they can stand and walk with ease; it’s an instinct in their blood. They are both in shock and amazed at how they’re walking, and soon skipping, and then soon running across the hot golden sand. They run around, dancing and jumping through the air, amazed by this new experience. When they make their way to the fire, the overly excited Flo reaches out her hand to touch the pretty light. She lets out a horrific whelp as the flame burns into her delicate mer-hand, melting the flesh it came into contact with. A scared Elizabetha rushes to her sister to see what’s wrong. Flo shows her sister the wound, trying not to cry from the pain. Elizabetha examines the wound and then holds her hand over it, “Stay still” she tells her as she casts magic from her hands. Within seconds the wound is healed, but it has left a nasty scar. “Are you alright?” Elizabetha wonders, leading Flo to assure her she is, “Well now we know fire is dangerous” she adds, giggling. Elizabetha giggles in return before asking if they should go and look for some pretty shells to take home as a secret reminder of their adventure. “Sure. But first…” Flo says before pointing her hand at the fire again and squirting it with magical water from her hand. Flo tells her sister to head in one direction down the shore while she heads in another, “Don’t travel too far though or else we will get lost” she tells her. Elizabeth nods before running down the beach, looking for pretty shells. Flo then heads in the opposite direction and begins gently walking along the water, keeping her eye out. Soon enough she discovers a little starfish. She picks it up and admires the pretty colours it displays. In an instant she freezes the animal with magic, killing it, but preserving its beauty. She puts it in a little satchel she carries with her before continuing her search. She next comes across a beautiful stone, almost glowing. She picks up and examines the beautiful gem, realising it is almost like glass, and inside the glass stone is something far more beautiful than she's ever seen before. Inside the gem is a beautiful white mist, gently swirling around and twinkling with glitter. Amazed by the discovery, she puts it in her bag and continues her search. As she walks down, she is later distracted by the sound of rustling coming from the nearby forest. She chooses to pay no attention to it and turns around to see if Elizabetha is still in sight; she is, although quite a distance away. Flo chooses to keep walking anyway, but as the rustling sounds get louder, she finds herself unable to ignore it. She curiously walks closer to the trees but is suddenly stopped when a tall male emerges from them. Flo is petrified, but greets him with a polite “Hello” anyway. However, it becomes clear that the man is not so pleasant when she notices the crazed and angry look in his eyes. The man steps forward, and before Flo can react, he raises his arm and swings his fist down onto the little girls head. She is dazed for a moment, unable to react. She can’t walk or talk, she just looks around with puzzled blurred vision. As it starts to come back to her, she looks back up at the man as he brings his fist down on her head again. This time everything turns to black.  
A short while later, down the opposite end of the beach Elizabetha is satisfied by the pretty shells she’s collected. She turns around to see if she can spot Flo in the distance, but she cannot. She shrugs this off to mean she’s out of sight and she simply runs along the beach to try and catch up with her. She begins following her sisters footsteps, but soon realises that they come to a stop and turn left towards the treeline. Elizabeth is confused, “Flo?” she calls out cautiously, “Flo where are you?”. When there’s no response, she decides to follow the footsteps in hopes of finding her sister. However, as she gets nearer to the trees she is met by a scary sight… puddles of blood on the sand and the sudden stop of footsteps. Elizabetha’s heart begins racing and she gets more and more scared after every deep breath she takes, “Flo? Flo?! Flo!?! Where are you?!” she calls out louder and louder each time. Realising something must have happened to her sister, she drops the satchel to the ground and sprints towards the ocean, diving in and regaining her tail within seconds. She swims down and down into the dark abyss until suddenly she sees the dim glow that is home.  
A while later, Elizabetha has arrived home. She swims through her palace at a rapid pace, ignoring everyone as she passes them, including Rachelle, who has finally decided to head back to the palace after waiting so long. She notices Elizabetha alone and in a hurry, so follows the princess as far as she can. However, she stops once Elizabetha enters the throne room, where she knows her mother, the queen, will be. Queen Kristacean is sat on her coral throne talking to council members when Elizabetha rushes in, crying her eyes out. They all turn to look at her and Kristacean asks her youngest daughter what is wrong. Struggling for words, Elizabetha cries “She’s gone”. A confused Kristacean wonders what she’s talking about and then wonders where Flo is. Elizabetha simply cries that “She’s gone” again. Sensing something important has happened, Kristacean dismisses the council members. When they’re all gone, she swims to her daughter and asks her to explain herself, “What are you talking about my child?”. A guilt filled Liz explains that they went to the shore to explore; this fills Kristacean’s face with horror and rage. “You did what?! Where is your sister?! Where is Flo?” she rages. Liz cries that she’s gone. “How do you know?!” a mortified Kristi asks, shaking her daughters shoulders. Liz explains that she saw blood on the sand where Flo was. Kristi’s rage suddenly disappears and she becomes extremely calm. “Your sister is dead” she says bluntly, causing a confused Liz to cry. “Your sister is dead. Your sister is dead! Your sister is dead!! YOUR SISTER IS DEAD” Kristi screams at Liz, getting louder and angrier and more upset every time she says it. Finally she slaps the young Liz across the face and pushes her to the floor, “HOW COULD YOU LET THIS HAPPEN?!” she rages, tears streaming from her eyes and becoming part of the ocean. “I have told you many times. MANY TIMES. You are never to go on land” she roars at her daughter. Liz remains quiet, crying on the floor and holding her cheek. The mer-folk are a magical race, using their powers for violence. It is a great disrespect for them to lay a hand on one of their kind...especially their own child. “HOW COULD YOU LET YOUR SISTER BE MURDERED?!” Kristi continues screaming. However, within a split second Kristi’s mood changes once she realises what she’s done to her six her old daughter. She swims down to Liz and holds her in her arms, hushing her soothingly as she cries. “Your sister is dead” she whispers a final time before they both cry in each other’s arms. Outside the throne room, Rachelle is waiting outside the doors, having just listened to everything that just happened. Tears begin to come from her eyes too.

**Act I:**   
_18 Years Later_

We are shown the land of Ebano, a huge desert-filled continent that is the home of many barbarians, wildlings, and savages. The land is warm and dry, and the people are filthy animals. One tribe of barbarians has gathered together to watch their leader, Khal Tyso beat a disgusting troll, Joevyn, to death. Joevyn is seen cowering on the ground, waiting to be executed, while Khal Tyso sits up tall on his noble steed. The savages cheer on their Khal, all but one, a peasant by the name of Renato. Renato is not like the others, he simply doesn't worship his leader out of pure jealousy. The peasant has never been as ruthless as the other villagers, never been as strong or shameless. Even his wife, Mariah, manages to out-do him in everything. Renato glances over at his beautiful, dark skinned wife as she cheers on their Khal. He sighs, wishing he could be something better. Meanwhile, as the savages cheer on their Khal, a beautiful brunette approaches the tribe on a horse. She wickedly grins, having had something planned. Behind her walks a teenaged girl, about the age of 17. She is beaten and bruised, she is gagged with a disgusting piece of cloth, and is in chains, forced to walk behind the horse. The young girl is clearly broken, but the beautiful brunette doesn't seem to pay her any attention. Khal Tyso starts charging at Joevyn, swinging his sword in the air. The troll cowers, knowing that his head is about to come off of his body. However, as the shiny piece of steel comes down, it suddenly dissolves into water. Joevyn is drenched in the freezing cold liquid. He looks up to see what has happened; everyone is confused. “Didn't your mother ever tell you to pick on someone your own size?” Khal Tyso, Joevyn, Renato, Mariah, and all the other savages turn around and see Joanna sitting atop her horse. “Who the fuck are you?” Tyso asks, beyond pissed. Joanna grins, “I think it'd be best if you spoke to your leader in a nicer tone than that.” The barbarians' eyes widen; none of them believe that someone, especially a woman, would ever disrespect their Khal like that. “You are no leader,” Tyso exclaims, “you are nothing but a dumb whore.” Joanna's smile begins to fade, “Oh honey, you really shouldn't have said that.” Tyso doesn't know what Joanna is getting at, but suddenly he finds himself lifted into the air by her magical force. Joanna waves her hand around and the Khal is flown all over the place. He screams for her to put him down; Joanna's smile starts to return. She starts to clench her fingers together, this starts choking Tyso. He struggles to breathe, he pleads for Joanna to release him. Once seeing that the Khal has suffered enough, she stops choking him, but he remains in the air. “You filthy whore!” he shouts. Joanna rolls her eyes, “When will you learn?” she then snaps her fingers. Nothing happens for a moment; everyone is confused. It doesn't take long, however, for Tyso to start to feel a bit off. Suddenly he starts throwing up loads and loads of water. Soon enough, water also starts pouring from his eyes and nose. The barbarians are horrified; water starts coming from the Khal's cock and ass as well. It doesn't take long for Tyso to drown to death. Once Joanna is sure he is dead, she has his corpse thrown to the ground where it is dragged away by Renato and Mariah's pet wolf, Rocka. She begins feasting on the dead Khal. Joanna glances back up at the barbarians; they are horrified. “Oh, right, back to business. I'm sure you have all heard of the ancient prophecy that states one day there will be a beautiful sorceress that will lead you all into battle and to victory.” The peasants sort of nod, stating that they know what Joanna is talking about. “Well I have reason to believe that that sorceress is me.” The savages talk amongst themselves. Joanna continues, “I am prepared to lead a battle against Wiksteros to avenge my people and myself, and take down those who have wronged us. We will everything that we want, gold, land, slaves, anything and everything.” The savages talk amongst themselves for a moment; one finally steps forward and announces, “I believe we have a new Khaleesi.” Joanna smiles, “Thank you, however, I prefer Queen.” The tribe is silent for a moment, however, they soon begin cheering “Long live Queen Joanna.” The sorceress grins, everything is going as planned. She then turns to her hostage and says, “Now I can finally move forward with what I have planned for you, my dear Alyza.” The teenaged girl gulps. Joanna turns back to the savages and summons one random woman. “What is your name, darling?” Joanna asks. “Valentina,” the woman responds, “How may I assist you?” Joanna glances over at the terrified Alyza and then back at Valentina, “I have a task for you,” she says with a wicked grin on her face.

Sometime later, after the barbarians have all returned to their tents, Renato and Mariah are sat in their own. Renato is seen chopping up the former Khal Tyso's body and feeding it to his wolf, Rocka. The vicious beast tears up the ex-leader's body, munching down on as much as she can, as fast as she can. Mariah is annoyed, "Feed that little bitch outside," she says to her husband. Rocka growls at her owner's wife. Renato motions for his pet to go outside; the wolf drags the Khal's body with her. "One of these days I'm going to cut that beast open and make us some new clothing," Mariah mumbles. Renato sits down next to his wife, "What is wrong, my sweet?" he asks. Mariah tells her husband that she does not wish to talk about it, but Renato insists. Mariah rolls her eyes, "Well if you must know, I'm a little unease with our new 'Queen'," she says, "That sorceress drowned our Khal and just took over. Who knows what she has planned? I do not trust her." Renato, however, has a different opinion about his new leader, "I think she'll make a terrific leader. The prophecy states that an all powerful sorceress will lead us into battle and to our victory. I believe that she is it." "But we do not know this for sure. Anyone can practice witchcraft." Renato shakes his head, "What Queen Joanna did, I don't think anyone could have done. We must respect her or we could end up just like Khal Tyso." Mariah is still annoyed, even more now that her husband disagrees with her about the new Queen.

On a small sandy island off the shore of Nithurya, the mystical island inhabited by the mysterious and magical elvish people, Queen Kristacean Aquilus, ruler of the mermaids, stands waiting with her now only daughter, Elizabetha, who is now the age of twenty-four. As they both stand side by side in silence, Rachelle, the handmaiden, also stands with them, but a few metres behind, holding a small satchel tightly in her crossed arms. As they continue to wait, Queen Kristacean begins to get impatient, as she looks out to sea. “It shouldn’t be long now, mother” Liz tells her Kristi, hoping to keep her mother’s temper down. “They were supposed to arrive at the strike of noon” Kristi huffs, but Liz explains that was only a few minutes ago. Kristi rolls her eyes at this and begins twiddling her fingers impatiently. As she grows more and more impatient, she turns around to Rachelle, asking “Girl. Do you still have the stone?”. Rachelle opens up the satchel she is carrying and pulls out a beautiful glowing blue stone that almost looks like glass containing a flowing liquid inside, “Yes, your majesty” she confirms. Kristi huffs again, “You should be honoured that I have trusted you to hold the Cerulean Gem…especially since the last thing I trusted you to look after was Flo. And now she is gone” the queen comments coldly. Rachelle looks uncomfortable at this comment, but shrugs it off, not daring to anger her queen, “Yes your grace, I am very honoured” she says meekly. Suddenly, Liz excitedly calls out for her mother’s attention, “Look mother, in the distance. They’ve arrived” she sings. The three mermaids look out onto the horizon to see a beautiful white boat sailing their way. “It’s about bloody time” Kristi snarls.<br />  
A small glasslike stone is placed onto a round stone table; inside the stone appears to be swirling orange flames. It is placed next to two similar looking stones, except in those are electrical sparks and thick swirling green mist. On the opposite side of the table is laid the Cerulean Gem; Queen Kristacean is sat close by to it. “I’m glad you agreed to honour this truce meeting, Queen Kristacean” the man who placed the three other stones says. The man is named Joshiah Dorthonion, a prince of the elvish people. His robes are dark red and his long straight platinum hair is decorated by a large bejewelled crown. Beside Joshiah is stood a wood elf, Juanser, his person guard. Kristi, with Elizabetha sat beside her and Rachelle stood a few metres behind, rolls her eyes and asks the elvish prince to get on with matters. “A great war has been foreseen in the pools of my land” Joshiah explains to the queen, “It is coming soon, it is coming fast and it is coming at force” he finishes, unnerving Elizabetha. However, Kristacean seems not to care. “And why should I care about a war between you land folk? Seems to me that my people will be safe in the depths of our water” she points out, but Joshiah simply shakes his head. “This war is one not to be trifled with. A great power comes with it, and should the wrong side lose… not even you will be safe in your submerged palaces” he warns her. Trying not to seem scared, Kristi shrugs this off with a mere laugh, “This is preposterous. There is no such power that could eliminate my people” she argues back, but Joshiah again points out that there is, “An alliance is needed between our two people. Our conflicts must come to an end for the greater good” he tells her. Kristi wonders why an alliance with the mermaids is of such important to him, so he looks down at the four glowing gems on the stone table. “Our people are the most powerful and skilled in the art of magic” he tells her, “If we were to come together and combine our abilities, we may be able to stop this upcoming force. Think about it, if we come together, we could have the power to stop countless unnecessary violence and slaughter”. Kristi scoffs at this, “Your intentions are humble. But I do not believe you, elf” she snarls. Elizabetha looks at her mother with concern, wanting her to help the elvish man. “I do not believe you come to me asking to help stop the loss of countless insignificant lives” she tells Joshiah honestly, “If you want my respect then you better show me some. So I ask you again, why do you want to create an alliance with my people?” she finishes. Josh leans in slowly and tells her “What everybody wants… to win”. Kristi seems threatened by this, “Be careful what you say elf, I could have you killed at any moment right now” she tells him, looking at the water surrounding them. Joshiah and Juanser look into the water to see numerous mermaid guards, armed and ready to fight. Unnerved, Juanser puts his hand onto his sword. After looking around at the guards, Joshiah simply laughs and asks once more if it’s possible for them to form an alliance. “No” Kristi says bluntly. Josh nods, “Very well” he says before taking his three gems, standing and walking back to his boat with Juanser.

Meanwhile, on the continent of Wiksteros, we are shown an old, large, and beautiful castle. The couple, Lord Benjamyn Umber and Lady Justine Tyrell walk through the palace garden. Justine has always loved the garden, with its beautiful scenery and bird attraction. Ever since she was a young girl she would always favor the garden, just going there if she was ever sad, or bored, or lonely, or just wanted some fresh air. Ben knew this, so he'd always offer to take her on romantic walks through it. He and Justine have been seeing one another for the past two months; their fathers have hopes of marrying them in order to join the families. This kind of thing was quite common for the highborn humans, but something that was uncommon was falling in love with your betrothed – something that Justine and Benjamyn have done. The two of them love one another with all their heart; they just want the best for each other and for everything to be perfect. This is why Ben has decided that if they are to be married then he intends on doing things the right way. He comes to a halt. “What is wrong, my beloved?” Justine asks him in a gentle voice. Ben looks his girlfriend in the eye, “All my life I have been wanting to find someone like you. Someone as gentle, and loving, and beautiful, and caring. I never thought that I'd ever find it.” Justine is touched. “When my father told me there was a chance you and I would be married, I knew that there really was a god and I am forever in his debt,” he then proceeds to take an engagement ring out of his coat pocket; Justine gasps. “Lady Justine Tyrell, will you do me the honor of being my wife?” “Oh Benjamyn,” she Justine says with tears of joy in her eyes, “Yes, I will marry you!” The couple is ecstatic and embrace in a passionate kiss. This, however, does not last for long. A dwarf comes running out to the garden. A man in his early twenties; he has long black hair and a bushy black beard. Around his neck he wears a necklace with a glowing gem on it. The stone looks like glass with twinkling mist inside of it. It swings around his neck as he runs to catch up with Ben and Justine. “What is it, Lord Josyph?” Benjamyn asks. Justine is annoyed by the presence of the dwarf, as she always was racist towards them, one of her few flaws. “I was sent here from the capital to let you know that your sister, Alyza has been kidnapped,” Josyph says to Justine. A look of fear comes across Justine's face, “By who??” she asks. “We dont't know...” Justine is in tears, “I knew I should've fought to keep King Jaewin from taking her to the capital. I knew it!! You need to find my sister, and find her now!!” she screams at the dwarf. “We're doing everything we can, milady,” Josyph assures. “You better,” Justine says in a stern voice, “if you do not find my sister then my father will see to it that every guard that was suppose to be protecting Alyza has their head on a spike.” Joe is a bit nervous now. Ben, seeing this, tells his new fiancée that they should probably head back inside. Justine nods as she wipes away a tear. The couple head back inside; Joe is worried about Justine's threats.

 **Act II:**  
In a special part of Queen Kristacean’s underwater palace which contains no water, Elizabetha sits on a bed, quietly crying to herself. Rachelle, the handmaiden, walks past the room carrying laundry and notices the faint sound of crying coming from the young princess’ room. She knocks on the door, calling out for Elizabetha, but she gets no response. She knocks again, “Elizabetha? Are you okay?” she asks with concern. The young princess wipes away her tears before telling Rachelle to go away. The handmaiden rolls her eyes at this and simply enters the room, shocking Elizabetha, who gasps, “Rachelle…”. Rachelle drops the laundry and walks towards the princess, “What? You think I’m like all the other help here?” she asks Liz, who meekly shakes her head. “You’re like a sister to me, Elizabetha, and I know I’m like one to you” she points out, “So please don’t try to shut me out. Tell me, what’s wrong?”. Elizabetha doesn’t seem offended by the way the handmaiden is talking to her as everything she just said is true. “It’s Flo’s birthday tomorrow, she'd be twenty-six” she tells Rachelle, who simply responds with a sad nod, “I know” she tells the princess, “I had planned to go and find something nice for her from the shore, maybe a nice jewel” she tells Liz, who seems touched by this, “She would’ve liked that” she assures Rachelle. Rachelle then asks what Elizabetha is planning on doing for her lost sister. Liz stands and begins heading to the door with a cold look on her face, “The same thing I’ve been doing for these past eighteen years” she says. Rachelle doesn’t say another word as Liz leaves the room. Rachelle stays in the room and moves towards the window which looks out upon a garden surrounded by glass, stopping it from being underwater. Soon enough she sees Elizabetha walk out onto the grassy fields carrying two daggers. The young princess proceeds to fight with some dummies. She is clearly a skilled fighter, having worked hard at it. Rachelle looks down at Liz with a look of worry on her face before proceeding to carry on with the laundry. Meanwhile, however, Queen Kristacean looks down from her chambers as her daughter practices fighting. A look of anger comes across her face.

Lord Benjamyn and a crying Lady Justine are in their tactics room surrounded by several high up knights as they all look around a map of their known world, trying to make any sense of where Justine’s sister, Alyza, could have been taken…and why. However, they just can’t seem to think of any logical explanation. Numerous times Justine spurts out that it could have been the dwarfs that took her, but the other knights simply shrug this off, as it is no big secret that Justine hates the dwarfish people. As they continue planning, a knock is heard from the door to the room and Josyph Durin enters. “What are you doing in here? You have no right” Justine snaps at him. He chooses to ignore the hateful woman’s comments, understanding she’s going through a hard time…or so he tells himself. He knows that if this had happened under any other circumstance and Alyza was not missing, she would have acted the same way. The dwarf points out that he may be of assistance, “How?” Ben wonders, speaking in a more peaceful tone than his wife-to-be. Joe approaches the humans, holding the glowing stone that hangs around his neck. “You all know I possess powerful magic” he points out, “Perhaps I would be able to use it to track down the kidnapper of your sister” he says to Justine with hope in his voice. Her face perks up with slight relief hearing this and she leans closer to the dwarf, “I-Is it possible? You can find her with your magic?” she wonders. He tells her it’s a possibility as even he isn’t sure of his full magical abilities. “You must go! Now!” Justine orders him in a commanding tone, Josyph nods at her and explains that he will set off to Stormwind, the capital, at first light. Before he leaves the room, Justine stops him, “Wait. You’re a dwarf, why are you so willing to help find my sister and possibly put yourself at risk?” she asks with genuine confusion. Joe looks at the beautiful blonde with tears welling up in his eyes, “Iron and blood. Iron and blood” he repeats to her. “What does that mean?” Ben wonders, leading Joe to go on. “That is what my father always told me growing up. Iron and blood. Those are the words of my people, of the proud dwarven race. It’s what he told me time and time again as I started to learn the art of magic. You see, for a dwarf to practice magic…it’s forbidden. It is a massive insult to any dwarf’s parent the day their child would rather study from books instead of wielding an axe. But I made my choice, the day that little girl entrusted me with this” he says, still holding the glowing stone. Justine points out that his story doesn’t explain why he’d risk so much to save her sister. “I’m doing it because I’ve seen what people can do. What dangerous people can do, like they did to the girl who gave me this” he says, still holding his glowing stone. “I don’t want to imagine the things people could do to her” he says, causing Justine to tear up, “So I’ll find your little sister” he promises before leaving the room. Ben hugs Justine as tears flood from her eyes.

Back in the land of Ebano, Queen Joanna sits in a semi-fancy wooden chair atop of some rocks. She watches as the savages she now rules over have a party to honor their new Queen. She takes an interest in their way of life, watching as three barbarians fight over ass-fucking a half-naked woman; the girl seems to be enjoying it. She looks over and sees women, including Mariah, dancing around a fire; their breasts bounce in the air. Joanna then looks over and sees Renato sitting on the ground; he's a bit further away from everyone else. Rocka stands guard, ready to bite into the throat of anyone who dares messing with her owner. Joanna is intrigued by this and is ready to summon the wimpy peasant, but her attention is soon caught by the sound of "Queen Joanna." She looks and sees that standing before her is the hideous troll that Khal Tyso was going to kill. "Hello," Joanna says, "and you are?" she asks, not remembering him. "You saved my life," the troll replies, "I'm Joevyn." Joanna nods, remembering who he is, "Yes, well, your slate is wiped clean. Whatever you did to piss off the ex-Khal is meaningless now. Hopefully you will behave from now on because as you saw earlier, I do not tolerate those who disobey me." "Y- yes, Queen Joanna. I- I just came to say that after what you did for me, I am forever in your debt. I am here to devote my life to you and you only. I will do whatever you say. I swear on the old gods and the new that I will not fail you." A wicked grin comes across Joanna's face, "I like the sound of that." The troll smiles with glee. "However," Joanna says, "I'd like to know what exactly you did to get yourself the death sentence." Joevyn sighs, "I am of no home, you see, and I was out looking for food and saw this village. I stole some bread from the Khal and he caught me. The next day I was whipped, beaten, forced to drink horse piss, and had my cock chopped off." Joanna is stunned, she cannot believe what Joevyn has gone through. However, she does not dwell on it for long, as she simply does not care. She then proceeds to say, "So tell me, Joevyn, are you good at getting information?" Joevyn nods, smiling, despite being a little hurt that the Queen does not seem to care about what he has gone through. "Good," Joanna replies, now grinning again, "because there's someone I'd like to get to know," she says, now watching Renato with his wolf.

Ben and Justine sit together in the former's bedroom; the latter cries in her fiancé's arms. "Shhhh," Benjamyn says, trying to calm Justine, "it'll be alright. Josyph will find Alyza and bring her back to us." "But what if he doesn't??" Justine asks. Ben assures her that he will. "I told my father not to let King Jaywin take Alyza to the capital. I told him that she wouldn't be safe. No one is safe in the capital, and I was right." As Justine continues to ramble on and on, Ben interrupts her with a passionate kiss. "She'll be fine," Ben says again; this time Justine is starting to believe him. However, she still has doubts, "What if she's not?" Ben kisses her again and assures her once more than Alyza will be perfectly okay. Justine leans in and kisses Ben; he sticks his tongue into her mouth and she does the same. The two of them begin unbuttoning and pulling off their clothes. Once completely in the nude, Ben pulls Justine in close and they collapse on the bed. They roll over and Justine is on top. She begins kissing his neck, down to his chest, stomach, and finally finds herself sucking on his erect penis. Ben moans with pleasure, enjoying every moment of this. Justine moves closer to Ben so he can insert his penis into her vagina. She's now moaning with pleasure, never having felt this great in her life, even forgetting all about her missing sister. Ben grabs Justine's face and pulls her in closer where they shove their tongues down one another's throat, making love in a hot sweaty passion. Justine then sits back up and continues riding on Ben's penis; the two of them moan with pleasure all the while.

 **Act III:**  
It’s night time on the island of Nithurya, home land of the elvish people. This small island is different compared to its sibling islands Wiksteros and Ebano, for it is thriving with the magic possessed by the elves. The magic is evident around the whole of the island, even in nature. The trees are tall and wide, growing impossible heights, allowing civilizations to form inside them once hollowed. Leaves from the plants and trees glow as magical glitter like substances come from them, illuminating the night sky. Every colour on the rainbow is seen, each plant releasing its own magical powder. Suddenly, the peacefulness of the magical forest is interrupted by a speeding person, diving effortlessly through the trees and vines, sliding down fallen trunks and leaping far in front of them. They know the forest well, and they’re in a hurry as they try to reach their destination. In another part of the sparkling forest, a beautiful platinum haired female elf, Alyson Elesar is seen in a small stone garden, looking into a small pool of water in a beautifully carved stone bowl. She looks into the water, seeing her reflection, and she smiles. She gently pats the water with her hand causing it to ripple. She keeps watching the water until it settles, and when it does, she’s startled by the reflection of Joshiah behind her. She jumps and turns around, not realising that he’d swiftly snuck up behind her. He is the one who was hurrying through the forest. “Joshiah…” she gasps, “You startled me”. Joshiah stands tall next to the woman, simply telling her “I need your assistance”. She looks at him with curiosity.

Meanwhile, back in the land of Wiksteros, Rachelle is seen walking along the sandy beach. She quietly hums to herself as she picks up sea shells and places them in a basket, something she enjoys doing in her free time. She is searching for a special jewel that could be given as a sign of respect for Flo's birthday. However, she also knows that Princess Elizabetha enjoys being given fancy jewelry made from the beautiful shells, so she often brings home as many as she can, hoping to please her employer. Rachelle has always felt bad for Liz, having to deal with a strict mother and the guilt of letting her sister get kidnapped. As the young mermaid continues walking through the beach, something catches her eye. She looks up to see a rowboat coming to shore; on it is Valentina, carrying with her a large box. Rachelle watches her with suspicions. Valentina hops out of the boat with box and starts walking. “Hey!” Rachelle calls out, hoping to get the young woman's attention. Valentina looks and sees Rachelle; worried that she has been caught by someone of any importance, she starts running. Rachelle does not have a good feeling about what the girl was up to. She drops her basket of seashells and dives back into the ocean, swimming as fast as she can to report this to Queen Kristacean.

Meanwhile, Elizabetha is swimming through the watery halls of the underground palace, getting ready for a good night’s rest. However, the daunting Queen Kristacean swims up behind the young princess and stops her by clearing her throat. “Yes, mother?” Liz questions, twirling around to see Kristi staring angrily at her. “I saw what you were doing today” Kristacean tells her, but Liz simply comments that it’s not a secret that she trains with daggers, “You’ve known for years…” she adds. “Yes, but now you are a grown woman. And you have responsibilities” Kristi points out to her daughter, he rolls her eyes with frustration. “When I am gone…you will be queen” she reminds Liz, who is saddened by this, “Of course that wasn’t meant to be. Your sister Flo was the true queen” she hisses, saddening Liz further. “That wasn’t my fault…” Liz says quietly, angering the queen. “But it happened nonetheless!” she yells, “But once the cows been milked, there’s no squeezing the cream back up her udder. Now here we are. You are the future queen and you have certain responsibilities which come with the title” Kristi explains, upsetting Liz more and more. “You don’t have time for foolish games” Kristi snarls at her daughter, “Starting tomorrow you will begin to act like a real woman…or so help me. I will banish you from this kingdom” she threatens; Liz doesn’t react to this, she simply quietly mutters “It wasn’t my fault…”. Kristi asks what she’s talking about, so Liz tells her that Flo’s disappearance wasn’t her fault. The queen is instantly enraged, “You were supposed to look after her! You left her! It is your fault that your sister is dead, probably tortured and raped” she screams at Liz. Liz is shocked at the things her mother is saying, but she’s even more shocked when she realises she has just struck her mother, the queen, across the face. Queen Kristacean holds her red cheek and stares with wide open eyes and mouth at her daughter. Liz avoids eye contact with her mother and begins to get very nervous, “I-I’m so-sorry. I-I shouldn’t have done that” she stutters. Kristi swims slowly towards her daughter, staring down at her, “Touch me again…and you lose your hands. You become a woman tomorrow. Consider this your final warning” she hisses at her before turning and swimming away. Liz looks on with sadness as her mother leaves.

It's early in the morning at the Tyrell castle in Wiksteros. Lord Benjamyn and Lady Justine are on their way to breakfast. As always, they walk through the castle's garden on the way there. “Last night sure was something,” Ben says with a dopey smile on his face. Justine, also grinning, comments, “Yes, yes it was.” “Lord Benjamyn, Lady Justine,” a voice is heard saying. The couple turn around and see Joe hurrying towards them. “What is it?” Ben asks. “Please hurry, imp, we're on our way to breakfast,” Justine adds on, annoyed by his presence. Joe ignores Justine's rude comment and says that there is a girl here who was looking for them. The dwarf looks back at the castle's entrance and motions the girl to come out. It is none other than the barbarian girl, Valentina, carrying with her the mysterious box that she had with her when Rachelle saw her at the beach. Ben and Justine are confused. “Who is this?” Ben asks. Valentina does not respond, she just hands Ben the mysterious box; stuck to it is a note.

{{Quote|''Dearest humans, I have been watching you all for sometime now. For years I have been plotting and plotting against you all. The only problem was I didn't know what exactly my plot against you all was. It took quite sometime, but I have finally figured out how I am going to punish your kind for the things you have done to me and my people. My gift to you is a warning of what the future has in store for you. In this box is a demonstration of what is to become of you all. So just know this, I'm coming for you – all of you. To Ben with love, Joanna... but you know me as Flo Aquilus.}}

A look of true terror comes across Ben's face. Justine is nervous; she lifts the lid of the box and jumps at the sight – Alyza Tyrell's severed head. Justine screams, horrified. She bursts into tears. Ben and Joe are horrified by the sight as well. Valentina smirks, having accomplished her mission. Justine continues to cry, screaming “No, no, NOO!!!” as she does so.


	2. "Who Can You Trust?"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prince Joshiah asks Alyson for assistance in a very dangerous task. Rachelle warns Queen Kristacean of the barbarian girl she saw on land, causing Elizabetha to worry that Wiksteros and Ebano may be forming an alliance, and that they should reconsider the elves' offer. Mariah fears she is losing Renato to Queen Joanna, so her friend suggests using sex to win him back. And Benjamyn and Justine decide to start preparing for the war that will soon take place, so they let Josyph handle Valentina.

**Teaser:**

“No. No. No, no, no, no, no, no, NO!!” Justine screams, bawling her eyes out in Ben's arms. The evil smirk remains on Valentina's face as she watches Lady Justine cry. Joe, who now holds the box containing Alyza's severed head, looks over towards Val, having forgot all about her during the discovery of Alyza. “Guards, guards!!” he calls. A group of guards dressed in armor, carrying with them swords are run outside to the garden. Josyph points at Val, “Grab that filthy barbarian and throw her in the dungeon!” The guards grab Valentina. Justine's father, Lord Mathis Tyrell hurries out to the garden as well. “What in the seven hells is going on here??” Justine, who is unable to speak whilst crying her eyes out, hands her father Joanna's note and points at the box Joe is holding. Mathis reads over the notes looks in the box. His eyes widen and his jaw drops, his entire world has fallen apart. He gasps at the sight of his youngest daughter's decapitated head. “Alyza...” he utters. He then glares at Valentina, knowing she has something to do with the loss of his daughter. He turns to Joe, "I want you to break that filthy little whore! Get every ounce of information you can out of her and make sure she suffers!" Joe nods and turns to the guards, "I want her taken to the dungeon and drenched in horse piss. Strip her of her clothes, and from there you leave her until given anymore orders." The guards nod and drag away Valentina, who still has a smirk on her face. Justine finally manages to stop crying. She wipes away the last bit of tears and turns to Ben, "We- we need to talk.." Ben is a bit nervous, he then motions for Joe and Mathis to leave them; they do so, taking Alyza's head with them. "What is it, my darling?" Ben asks. Justine looks at Ben in the eyes, a stern expression on her face, "How do you know this Joanna/Flo woman? And what made her kidnap my sister and murder her?? Ben, what are you keeping from me?? This woman is dangerous and King Jaewin may need to know!" Ben never wanted to tell Justine or anyone of his secret about Joanna. He was hoping he'd never have to. Never once did he think Joanna would pull something like this. He sighs, "Okay, well for you to entirely understand, I have to start from the beginning..."

**Act I:**

In the magical elvish island known as Nithurya, Joshiah and Alyson are walking through the beautiful and sparkling woods of the island. They walk with their arms link, casually strolling across the dirt and leaves and fallen branches where all the mysterious creatures remain hidden. "So what is it you ask of me?" Alyson asks, her voice humming like a harp. "We are currently in possession of three of the give Wikon gems" Josh points out to her, but she gives him a look of puzzlement as she already knew this, "Yes? What of it?" she asks. "The mer-people are in possession of the Cerulean gem... and the Casiphia gem is long lost to us" he continues. Alyson rolls her eyes, "You sought me out for a history lesson? I already know all of this Joshiah..." she tells him, uninterested. "I want them" he tells her, "I want the last two gems". Alyson wonders why, but he simply looks at her, "Why do you think?". Alyson is quiet for a moment while she thinks...and then she nods. "So why is it you come to me?" she asks, leading Josh to smile. "I want you to help me get them" he says. "But the Casiphia gem is lost to us...lost for decades... how do you expect me to help?" she asks, confused. "I'm going to pay a visit to Lady Telarion. She'll be able to help find that, but as for you? There are other ways you can help" he says with a hint of a grin. Alyson looks up to Josh, "Anything for you" she smiles, charmed by his magical and powerful beauty.

In Wiksteros, at Highgarden, home of the Tyrell family, Ben and Justine have moved to their chambers for some privacy. As Lady Justine sits on the bed, drying her tears with a handkerchief, Lord Benjamyn paces up and down the room, scratching his head nervously. “I’m not entirely sure where to begin…” he says worriedly, “How about from the beginning” Justine manages to say, still distraught. Ben nods, “Well it all started eighteen years ago” he begins, Justine looks at him with a raised eyebrow, “A young girl was captured by our people and the dwarfs…a mermaid. They found her on the shoreline brought her back to my city. She was so scared. Alone and scared” he says, getting a lump in his throat. “They tortured the girl. They hurt her in the most inhumane ways possible. They tied her up and burned her… all over her body. It left horrible scars” he tells her, feeling sorry for what the young girl had to endure. “And this girl was Joanna…or…Flo, as you apparently knew her?” Justine asks. Ben nods, “This went on for years… and I saw it all, I was only a child and I didn’t know what to do. But I knew it wasn’t right to harm a child like that. Eventually, as I got older, I gathered the courage to finally approach the girl. They kept her locked in a cage you see, but as the years went by they just…stopped caring about her. They stopped sending guards to watch after her, she was just left to rot. So I approached her and I talked to her. I felt so bad for the girl… So I let her out. We started sneaking out in the dead of night and we went on the most amazing adventures together” Ben tells her, getting the hint of a smile on his face as he remembers the good times they had. Justine notices this and gives him a vicious glare. “More years went by and we grew older together… we fell in love” he confesses, Justine bursts out crying, “How?! How could you fall in love with a woman capable of murdering a child?!” she screams at him, confused out of her mind. Ben lowers his head, “She wasn’t always like that…” he meekly tells her, not wanting to cause too much offense, “She used to be so kind and loving” he explains. “But...?” Justine says, waiting for something in the story to change, “But she as she grew older, she also grew darker and angrier because of all the torture she endured as a child. Justine questions how she grew dark and angry, “One day when we went on one of our adventures she decided she wanted to run away forever and leave Wiksteros” he tells her, “But she saw that I didn’t and couldn’t run away from the life I had, so she gave me a choice. She told me that I could either run away with her and exact vengeance for the wrongs that were done to her….or else I’d perish among the rest of the humans” he continues, now shaking slightly. “I made my choice. It must have destroyed her… she must have felt so betrayed” he says, now crying, “It’s my fault that Alyza was murdered. It's my fault...I know that now. She did it to hurt me. She did it because I wronged her” he says, fighting the tears that flood from his eyes. Justine stands up from the bed and slaps Benjamyn across the face. He is in utter shock that a woman would dare strike a man, but he doesn’t question it. He simply watches with guilt as Justine storms out of the room, also crying.

Meanwhile, in the land of Ebano, a group savage women are seen bathing in a lake. Mariah, being one of them, talks with her best friend, Nadiah. "Ever since Joanna murdered Khal Tyso and became our 'Queen', I've noticed Renato has not been focusing much on me," Mariah sighs. Nadiah wonders if Rena possibly has feelings for their Queen. Mariah nods, confirming that she has thought the same thing. As Nadiah splashes some water on her face, she assures Mariah that Rena's crush on the Queen will surely blow over. "And if it doesn't?" Mariah asks, "Then what happens? He can never be with Queen Joanna. He is absolutely pathetic and it is unbelievable that he has managed to survive this long. I love my husband with all my heart but I don't know what I will do if ''he'' is able to find someone better than me. Even I deserve better than him, but no I've stuck around." Nadiah thinks for a moment, wondering what to say. She finally comes up with something, "Well, you could always try winning him back with sex." "Oh, no," Mariah replies, "sex has never exactly been the best with us. Renato isn't exactly ''big''. "Oh..." Nadiah says, rather shocked, wondering why Mariah would ever settle for someone like Rena. She soon brushes this off, "Well that doesn't matter, sex is always fun for men. Just act like you're enjoying it and you'll be close again in no time." "Are you sure?" Mariah asks, not sure herself. "Of course!" Nadiah says, "When am I ever wrong?" Mariah tries to speak up, but Nadiah cuts her off, "Yeah don't answer that." The two gals chuckle and continue bathing.

Darkness. A figure is shown in chains in the dungeon of the Tyrell castle. A door is heard opening, and the light of the candle reveals Lord Josyph Durin heading down a flight of steps to greet his prisoner. “Hello,” he says with a smirk on his face. The candle shines light on the figure in chains – Valentina. Her face is bruised, she's been stripped of every bit of clothing she had on, and she barely sit up due to the pain that has been inflicted upon her. She is in too much pain to respond, something that angers Joe. “I said hello!” he shouts before kicking Valentina in the stomach. “H- hello..” the barbarian girl manages to spit out. Joe smiles, exclaiming that they're going to have some fun. Valentina just sits up, looking at the ground, already having been broke a little bit. “Tell me something, savage,” Joe says, “what happened to that evil ass smirk you had? Did it go away when you were bathed in horse piss? Or was it when the guards beat you half to death? Or maybe, just maybe, when you were raped up the ass by that animal that once worked as young Alyza Tyrell's personal bodyguard?” Valentina doesn't respond, she just looks at the ground. Joe thinks for a moment, trying to decide what he shall do next. He finally comes up with something. “Look,” he starts, “you have two options. Option one, you can tell me everything you know about Queen Joanna, and the actions she plans to take against us. You will be spared of any further torture and forced to spend the rest of your days as a servant in this castle. Option two, you can chose not to tell me anything and I just torture you until you are completely broken. It's all up to you." Val thinks for a moment. She has had enough of this torture, but she cannot let down her Queen. She looks up at Joe, "I will never betray Queen Joanna." Joe sighs, "Very well," and with that he grabs Valentina's hand, pulls out a knife, and plunges it through the Ebano barbarian's hand and into the wall. Val screams in absolute pain as Joe lets out a sinister laugh.

**Act II:**

In the underwater palace, ruled by the mermaids, Princess Elizabetha is swimming through the submerged parts of the building with a wealthy looking merman, dressed in silk clothing. It's clear by the way she looks at him with her hints of smiles that she has a crush on him. "It's my sister's birthday today..." she tells him with with looks of regret, "Flo. She'd be twenty six" she finishes. The merman, Jaimes, nods, "Yes, I imagine the honorary dinner shall be a grand event this year" he tells the princess. Elizabeth also nods and explains that her mother has hired the best caterers she could find as she wanted this year to top all the other years dinners. Jaimes smiles at Elizabeth, "Your mother is a smart woman. She's very brave after going through what she went through" he tells her. Liz gives him an awkward smile, "Yes... she's handled it very well" she says quietly. Jaimes suddenly gets a nervous look on his face and he quickly stutters, "Oh and of course it's been hard on you, my princess. I can only begin to imagine what you must have gone through". Liz doesn't respond to this, "I slapped her" she reveals. Jaimes is confused, "Flo?" he wonders, but Liz shakes her head and explains that she was talking about her mother. He is speechless. "I laid a hand on my mother...the queen. That is what the last eighteen years has led me to do. That is what they have made me become... An angry monster who would dare lay a hand on their blood" she sighs. Jaimes is still speechless, but it doesn't matter because Rachelle soon comes swimming down the corridors of the palace in a hurry. She stops when she reaches Elizabetha and Jaimes, "Where is your mother?!" she asks in a panic, almost yelling. Liz and Jaimes share a look of confusion.

In the land of Ebano, Joanna's khalasar has set up camp just over a mile away from the rich city of Essos. She sits atop her horse as a few barbarian men set up her tent. She overhears Mariah and Nadiah talking whilst making a fire. "So you're positive I can win Renato over with sex?" Mariah asks. Nadiah nods, stating that sex is the one way you can get a man to do absolutely anything. "He's just so obsessed with Queen Joanna. He even volunteered to risk his life by helping ransack Essos." "It'll be alright, Mariah, you'll win your husband back from that bitch Queen soon enough." Joanna is not pleased with the words coming out of Nadiah's mouth, however, she does not say anything. She just rides her horse over towards Joevyn who is burning Khal Tyso's head over a fire. “Is this necessary?” she asks the troll. “N- not if you do not think so, your highness,” Joevyn replies worriedly, hoping he has not upset his Queen. “No, no, do as you wish, I just don't see the point in this.” Joevyn smiles, “I planned on feeding the burnt remains to Tyso's family before they were executed at dawn.” This pleases Joanna; she tells her troll to carry on, “But I do have a favor to ask of you,” she says. Joevyn asks what it is she needs; Jo wickedly grins.

In the underwater palace, Elizabetha escorts Rachelle into the throne room where her mother queen is sat waiting on her throne. The princess still hasn’t been informed by what Rachelle had to say to her. “What is the meaning of this?” Queen Kristacean asks, confused by the presence of the two young girls. Rachelle stands in the middle of the room in front of her queen as Elizabetha moves over to her mother’s side, explaining that she has apparently come bearing important news. Kristi turns to Rachelle with a raised eyebrow, “Well? What is this news?” she asks. “I was out on the shores of Wiksteros…” she begins timidly, shocking Kristi, who angrily asks “You went on land…? Unsupervised?”. Rachelle holds her head down, knowing she’s done wrong, “I’m sorry your grace…” she tries before being interrupted, “You know this is punishable by death… It is completely reckless for you to be….” Kristi points out sternly before being cut off “Mother…” Elizabetha interrupts her, “Let her speak” she finishes. Kristi gives a quick angry glare to her daughter before turning back to Rachelle, who explains that she went to collect something for Flo’s birthday. This touches Kristi and she gets the hint of a warm smile in her face, but she doesn’t let it show for long. She simply nods, seemingly excusing Rachelle for her crime. “So what is it you’ve come to tell me?” the queen asks, leading Rachelle to step forward nervously. “Your grace, while I was up there… I encountered a human” she explains. Kristi’s eyes widen, “Did you speak to them?” she wonders. Rachelle shakes her head, explaining that she’s not even sure that they would have been able to speak the common tongue. Kristi asks what she means, “The person I saw was from Ebano I believe, your grace” Rachelle tells her, “She came across The Trident Sea in a boat and I saw her land. She carried a box, a large box” she continues to explain. Kristi wonders what was in the box, but Rachelle says that she wasn’t able to see as the girl ran away. “Why would someone from Ebano come to Wiksteros?” Liz asks, confused. “I’m not sure, princess, but I did take note that she headed towards Highgarden… the city run by House Tyrell. A very powerful family among the humans” she explains. Elizabetha asks what she’s saying, “I’m saying that maybe the humans and the barbarians of Ebano are forging an alliance” Rachelle states with certain confidence. Kristi and Liz’s eyes open wide with shock, “That’s preposterous!” Kristi snaps, “How can you possibly think ''that''?” she asks. “Well they sent one girl… a young, unarmed girl. What if that’s some sort of sign of good faith? So they can form their truce” she theorizes. Liz becomes nervous, believing what she’s being told, but Kristi shakes her head, refusing to believe it. “No. Impossible. The inhabitants of Wiksteros and Ebano hate each other. They would never agree to form an alliance! Why would they?!” she says loudly. “Maybe they both have a common enemy…” Rachelle points out, “Us” Liz gulps. A now terrified Liz turns to her mother, “Mother please, you must reconsider Joshiah’s offer... form an alliance with his people. If what Rachelle says is true, we need all the help we can get” she begs her. Kristi flicks her hand at her daughter, signaling her to silence. “Enough. I’ll hear no more of this from either of you” she snarls, “You may leave now” she tells Rachelle before thanking her for the information. Rachelle bows before her queen before exiting. Once she’s gone, Elizabeth begs her mother to reconsider the elves offer again…but she simply walks past her, ignoring her, leaving the throne room. Elizabetha sighs.

Back in Wiksteros, in the dungeon of the Tyrell castle, Joe laughs as he holds Valentina's head down in a bucket of pig piss. She struggles to break free, slowly being drowned in such a dishonorable manner. Joe finally grabs her by the hair, pulls her head out of the urine, and punches her in the face, knocking out two of her teeth. “Are you read to cooperate?” Joe asks his captive. “N- never!” Val spits out. Joe sighs and thinks of what to do next. He looks around and notices a pair of pliers sitting on a table of other torture tools. Val notices this; she tries to jump up, but forgets her hand has a knife plunged through it and is stuck in the wall. Joe grabs the pliers and laughs as he does so. He gets down on his knees and grabs Val's breast. He continues to feel it up, “It's a shame, we could've had some fun.” And with that he grips the pliers around Valentina's nipples and begins ripping them off. Val screams in pain as blood squirts from her ruined breasts. Joe proceeds to rip off the other nipple as well. Val screams and cries; having heard enough, Joe punches her in the face once again to shut her up. “You are such a dumb little whore, aren't you? You could've avoided all of this if you'd just tell me what your bitch Queen has planned. I hope it was all worth it to go through such torture.” “I would die for Queen Joanna!” “And you shall, but not before I'm done with you.” Val glares at him, “Show me your worst.” Joe nods, “Tell me, Valentina, is your bitch Queen all you have to live for? Is this why you're going through this? Just to make her happy?” Valentina doesn't answer, she just looks down. Joe smiles, “Do you have a family? Parents? Siblings?” Val shakes her head. “We have a word around here for people like you,” Joe chuckles, “you're a ''bastard''.” A tear falls from Val's eye. Joe picks up a knife and stands behind Val; he begins cutting her hair. “Were your parents murdered?” Joe asks with a grin as he cuts off Val's bangs. “No..” Val spits out. Joe thinks for a moment, “Did they abandon you?” he asks as he roughly chops off a good bit of Val's hair, now leaving her to look like a male. “Yes..” Val replies. Joe chuckles, “I don't blame them, you are a very stupid girl.” Val is bawling once again. “You really don't deserve to live. No wonder Joanna chose ''you'' to deliver Alyza's head. She must have known that no one would care when you died. Don't fool yourself, Joanna doesn't care about you. She decapitated a child, there is no goodness left in her.” Valentina cries, “KILL ME!!! PLEASE, JUST KILL ME NOW!!!” Joe shakes his head, “Not yet, my sweet.” He hands Val a mirror to look at her bruised face and chopped up hair. This only makes her cry even more; she has nothing left to live for.

**Act III:**

In the castle of Highgarden in Wiksteros, Ben is quietly strolling through the empty halls, thinking to himself about the recent events. As he passes the small slit windows in the walls and the sun that peeks through beams onto his face, he catches a glance of his fiancée Justine sitting in the gardens with her father, Mathis, as she mourns for her sister. He makes his way outside and towards Justine, but as he approaches her, Mathis hears his footsteps so approaches him, sternly looking down at him, “Whatever it is that you’ve done to my daughter, fix it. She won’t talk to me” he snarls. Ben nervously nods and walks past his future father-in-law, eventually sitting beside Justine. “How are you feeling?” he quietly asks, getting no response, “Justine please” he tries, “Talk to me. I’m sorry, I am truly sorry, but you need to talk to someone. It’s not good to shut people out at a time like this” he finishes. He still gets no response from her. They sit in silence for a few moments and they listen to the trickling of the water in the pond and the songs of the birds in the sky. “Okay” Ben says, admitting defeat. As he stands up, ready to leave, Justine grabs his wrist, “You are a hypocrite” she snaps at him. Ben sits back down, happy to have a response from her…even though it the response itself wasn’t what he’d hoped for. “Elaborate?” he gently asks her, “You are blaming me and scolding me for not talking. Yet you apparently haven’t truly been talking to me for the entire course of our relationship!” she says loudly, “You tell me I need to talk…well I think you needed to talk and tell me about this Joanna” she finishes. Ben is unsure how to respond, so he simply apologizes again, “I’m sorry. I’m sorry for everything that this has caused. I-I was wrong to keep such a secret from you…I just thought it was all in the past! I never expected her to act on her words” he pleads, tears forming in her eyes, “But she did!” Justine roars. Ben is speechless. A moment of silence ensues. “Have I ever told you the story about how my mother died? About how she was murdered” Justine asks him, having calmed down a considerable amount. Ben shakes his head, “I’m not aware of the full details” he explains. Justine closes her eyes and lowers her head as she takes herself back to that painful time, “A dwarf. A dwarf named Tyrion murdered her. He snuck into her chambers as she slept… and he strangled her with her own jewelry. He didn’t even take the jewelry, he took nothing. All he was interested in taking was the life of an innocent and beautiful woman. My everything” she tells him, fighting back a flood of tears. “That is the type of evil he was. All he wanted to do was inflict pain. When he was caught and executed, I demanded his head be put on a spike and shown for months… but that wasn’t enough. It wasn’t enough justification, how could it be? My whole world collapsed…I lost the thing I loved most” she sighs, “All he lost was his rotten little head” she snarls. Ben doesn’t respond, he just keeps on listening. “That is why I want you to find Joanna…this Flo. She is the same type of evil that killed my mother. I want her to suffer. Show her how it feels to lose what she loves” she orders him angrily. Ben is silent for a moment, stunned by the story, “But that’s the thing… I don’t think Joanna loves anything”.

In the land of Ebano, Mariah is seen walking through her khalasar’s makeshift camp, looking for her tent. When she finds it, she enters it to find Renato half naked, dressing himself in appropriate clothing to raid the nearby city. “What is this?” she questions him, Renato explains that Joanna has recruited a group from the khalasar to help raid the city of Essos in hopes of bringing back any gold and weapons they can. “And did she personally choose you or…did you volunteer?” she asks, “I volunteered” he tells her nonchalantly. Mariah seems hurt, but doesn’t say anything. “And when are you going?” she wonders, he tells her that they’ll be setting off around sunset. Realizing that she has a bit of time left, Mariah smiles… and then drops her raggedy dress to the ground, revealing her plump breasts. Renato raises an eyebrow at her, “What’re you doing?” he asks, confused. Mariah slowly walks towards her husband and wraps her hands around his waist, looking seductively into his eyes, “I thought we might be able to have a bit of us time before you go…a bit of fun” she says, licking her lips at him. Renato pushes her arms off of him and turns around, continuing to prepare for battle, “I’m sorry but I don’t have time for this now. Joanna is waiting for me” he explains with little sympathy for Mariah. She doesn’t give up however as she moves back towards him and wraps her arms around him from behind, slowly kissing his neck. “But you’re not going until sunset. We have plenty of time” she whispers, removing the little clothing he already had on. “B-But I n-need to go” he says, wanting but not wanting to turn away from his naked wife. “It’s only for a while” she hums sexually in his ear. She turns him around and begins kissing him…he’s given in to her charm. They quickly fall down to the floor and Renato flips his wife onto her knees, penetrating her soon after. He thrusts and thrusts into her back entrance as she moans with pleasure and joy that she’s apparently won her husband back… but all comes to a sudden halt when Joevyn pokes his head through the tent door. “Sorry to disturb, but Queen Joanna has moved forward the plans for the raid. We leave now” he sniggers before scuttling away. Mariah turns to Renato and is shocked to see him standing up and returning to putting his armor back on, “What are you doing?!” she asks, shocked. Rena gives her a look of confusion, not understanding why she’s mad, “You heard him…Joanna request we leave now”. Mariah is enraged, “And you’re going to go? Just like that?!” she yells. Rena nods, “I’m sorry but a job is a job” he explains. Furious, Mariah stands to her feet, puts on her dress and storms out of the tent, ordering Rocka to come with her. The two walk away, but once outside Rocka catches the scent of Tyso’s cooking head. The wolf charges over to the delicious meal and snatches it off of the fire, running away with it. An irritated Joevyn chases after the beast, yelling for it to give the head back. Meanwhile, as the furious Mariah storms through the camp, Joanna watches from afar on horseback…smiling.

On the island of Nithurya, Joshiah and Alyson, closely followed by their guard Juanser, are walking down a white stone pavement through the jungle as they head to the docks on the southern side of the island. Once they emerge from the jungle, they’re met by the beautiful warm orange glow from the setting sun. The light beams down onto the island, almost lighting up the glittering forestry behind them. They move down to the wooden docks where a white, pearl encrusted ship awaits them. Once at the boat, Joshiah holds Alyson’s hand as she climbs up the ramp onto the ship, she thanks him once aboard, holding her hand over her heart as a sign of elvish respect. “Take these” Joshiah says as he passes a packed bag for Alyson, “Take them down to her chambers and make sure everything is set up nice for her, she has a long journey ahead of her” he finishes. Juanser takes the bag, “Yes, my prince” he says before walking away. "And remember..." Joshiah says, stopping Juanser, "Sail south" he tells him, Juanser nods before boarding the ship and going down to the lower decks. Once he’s gone, Joshiah turns to Alyson, “Now to be certain, are you sure that you’re ready to do what must be done?” he asks. She simply nods, causing Joshiah to smile, “I’m proud of you, milady. You’d make a worthy princess” he compliments her. Alyson blushes at this but then gets a sad look on perfectly gleaming face, “It’s a shame that you aren’t accompanying me on this voyage” she tells him. Joshiah nods, “I know, and I am sorry that I’m unable to come. But I must speak with Lady Telarion, I have other matters to attend to” he explains. Alyson nods, understanding him, “But worry not, I should be caught up to you in a days’ time…and then our plans can move on” he smiles. She nods again and then puts her hand gently upon his, “Safe travels, my prince” she tells him before turning around and heading down to the lower decks of the ship.

“I think it'd be wise of you to tell me Joanna's plans now,” Joe says to Val as she is still bawling. The barbarian girl finally calms herself, “Never!” This annoys Joe, “And why not? Don't you see that she is using you? You are going to die no matter what, but if you tell me what that bitch has planned than at least you can die somewhat of a hero!” “Sh- she is still my Queen and I must respect her for it.” Joe nods, “Fair enough, do you know who my Queen is?” he asks. Val shakes her head. “Queen Jenyfer,” he replies, “and my King is King Bradley. I must do my part in protecting them and my people. I will not let my folk lose to the lowlife barbarians you come from, and that pathetic mermaid who should have had her head on a spike long ago.” Val is nervous. “Do you see what I am getting at?” Joe asks. Val doesn't reply. Joe raises his hand and uses his magical powers to start choking Valentina. The barbarian girl struggles to breath; she uses her free hand to try to stop the choking, but it proves to be no use. The fear of the magic fills her eyes just as quickly as the life slips away from her mutilated body. He starts choking the girl even more. Val finally waves her arm, admitting defeat. Joe stops choking the savage. “Joanna has taken over a khalasar and plans on sailing back over the Triton sea with her people to murder every single human and dwarf on Wiksteros. She has power, and lots of it. She cannot be stopped, not now, not ever. It is no use in trying.” Joe nods, “Thank you for your assistance.” Val is still scared, “Okay, so what happens now?” Joe smirks, “You'll see, my darling, all in due time.” And with that he blows out the candlelight and exits the dungeon, leaving Valentina in darkness.  
[[Category:Episodes]]


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